UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Observation: Cutler Ridge

Observation Date
3/16/2025
Observer Name
Hardesty and Brandt
Region
Ogden » Ben Lomond » Cutler Ridge
Location Name or Route
Cutler Ridge
Weather
Sky
Broken
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southwest
Wind Speed
Strong
Weather Comments
Light snowfall in the morning added up to a cm or so. Warm. Winds the main player. Partner Bill Brandt grew up in North Dakota and he said it reminded him of the winds as a boy. He said that whenever the wind would stop, all the livestock would fall over.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
High
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Wind Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments
Travel was up the Cutler ridge, north to check out some heat vents I had been unaware of and then to just below the 'step-across' at 8300' or so.
Difficult to tell how much "new" snow as nearly every square inch of the terrain was either scoured or drifted, with the most significant drifting noted at 7000' and above.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Red Flags Comments
We did not see any natural or skier triggered avalanches along Cutler or along the Ben Lomond-Willard headwall. Perhaps they had run and re-loaded by the relentless winds.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Problem #1 Comments
Wind slabs were the main concern but this observation is mostly a "non-event" report. Drifting occurred back and forth across subridges with wind whales everywhere. We jumped on many soft and hard drifts and ski cut across many many test slopes with no action - not even any shooting cracks, much less cracking. Some spots felt hollow in nature but remained welded in. Certainly warmth played a role in rapid settlement and sintering.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Cornice
Problem #2 Comments
Undoubtedly cornice fall would be on the radar with the winds and warm temperatures as would - possibly - wet pushalanches down low on Monday ahead of the cold front.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
None
Coordinates